The New Sentry
by Directionless Angel
Summary: "Who the heck keeps hiring this guy!" Undyne snarls into the phone. Nevermind that she was the one to do so, first. Or, alternatively: Sans has a strange way of making strong first impressions.
1. The Accident

A small amount of light slowly floods Sans' vision, but the world swirls even as he opens his sockets. He has to shut them again, groaning slightly, and raises a hand to his skull. Pain shoots through it, but he forces himself to sit up regardless.

"what the hell..." he mumbles, wondering if he's hungover. He doesn't remember deciding to go for drinks, though, so that'd be news.

When he finally manages to open his eyes and actually _see_ , his sockets widen in realization. A startled cord pulls at his soul.

"papyrus!" he immediately shouts and climbs to his feet, head whipping around in search of his brother. He feels dread when he sees the target of his search unconcious on the floor not too far for himself.

Sans darts across the lab unusually fast as he goes over to his sibling. He kneels next to the taller body, carefully slipping his right hand below the skull to pillow Papyrus' head. Meanwhile, the left gently shakes him.

"hey, papyrus... you alright?" He tries his best to keep the panic from his voice.

A soft groan can be heard before Papyrus' eye sockets flutter open. He fares better in comparison to Sans' awakening, sitting up as soon as he spots the elder. Relief floods the smaller monster.

"I'M FINE," Papyrus confirms a moment later and surveys his surroundings. Confusion kneads into his expression as he takes in the state of the laboratory. "W-WHAT HAPPENED?"

Everything is a horrible mess. Tables are thrown about, there are cracks in the walls... Some machinery has been smashed or pulled apart. The lights are either off or flickering helplessly, all except for the one right above them, still shining dimly. There's some water or, or _oil_ or some sort of liquid puddled at one end of the room. And right in front of them, there seems to be spots of impenetrable darkness – as if nothing at all exists there.

That seems to be the most unsettling thing out of everything. Sans swallows as he, too, takes note of their surroundings. Papyrus stands and his brother slowly follows his lead.

His eyes fixate onto the machine responsible for all of this. It stands in the middle of those dark spots, looking quite trashed.

"gaster happened," Sans reminds the other reluctantly. Speaking of which, _where is that guy_...?

Papyrus stills, but it takes a while for Sans to notice. He scrunches his browline as he gauges for further reaction.

"GASTER?" Papyrus starts, and something about his tone alarms Sans already, "WHAT'S... WHAT'S GASTER?"

.

Sans feels out of breath by the time he reaches Asgore's castle. Not from exertion, no. His teleportation is still quite functional. Rather, it's from the panic still swelling in his chest as he fearfully approaches the throne room.

He's taken these few steps for himself, just to collect himself. Gaster is gone. Gaster. Is gone. Gaster. Is. _Gone_. What is he supposed to do? He's still panicking when he does actually reach the throne room, but at least his breathing is under control.

The skeleton steps inside without further delay. Asgore is talking to another monster, both stood in the middle of that field of yellow. The king immediately hears the doors opening and gets distracted by Sans' entrance.

"Oh!" he starts, interrupting his previous conversation partner, "Howdy, Sans! I wasn't expecting you."

The king and scientist are not particularly close, but it's just like Asgore to remember his citizens' names. Sans ignores that, and the other monster, and pushes farther into the room.

"something has happened," he starts, getting straight to the point. His eyes barely spare a moment to the other visitor, who looks surprised more than annoyed.

Asgore seems to recognize the urgency in Sans' tone and excuses himself from the other citizen. The monster looks between his king and Sans, then nods and hastily exits the throne room. The skeleton doesn't wait any longer than that to speak again.

"th-there was an accident at the lab," he stutters, unexpectedly, and takes another quick breath to try and calm down. "something malfunctioned, big time."

The king looks taken aback, then settles on a serious demeanor.

"Oh dear! Is anyone hurt?"

Sans shakes his head.

"me and my brother were there when it happened, but we're alright. but..." he starts warily, fearing his next comment will heed the exact result he doesn't want, "doctor gaster has vanished."

And just as he fears, Asgore's expression crunches up in confusion, reminiscent of Papyrus' reaction. Sans makes fists inside his hoodie pockets.

"I'm sorry... Who is this Gaster you talk of?"

The short skeleton feels himself deflate, and the disappointment must show in his expression. Asgore is already doting on him.

"There, there! How about we discuss this over a cup of tea? If no one is hurt, we can take things step by step," the king assures with a gentle wave of his hand. Sans shakes his head, sighing. His left hand slips out of his pocket to hold his forehead.

"not again," he mutters to himself, "not this again. damn it."

Asgore takes a chance and strides over, his height easily towering over the tiny monster despite hunching. He places a large, comforting paw onto Sans' shoulder.

"Why don't you walk me through what happened," he suggests, booming voice much softer than one would imagine it goes.

Before he knows it, Sans has brought himself to nod.

Not ten minutes later, him and the king are seated in the latter's house, steaming cups of golden flower tea in front of each. Sans simply stares at his, hands still in his pockets. Asgore cradles his own cup after taking a quick sip.

"Now then..." the king says, moving to gaze at Sans expectantly. He shifts.

"this is goin' to sound really strange," he starts, then pauses to see Asgore's reaction. The boss monster is still perfectly calm, if a little worried. Sans continues: "but you aren't gonna remember things about... anything i tell you about."

Asgore smiles.

"You worry I will not believe you," he deduces, then softly shakes his head. "It is alright, Sans. I will not think you crazy."

He feels a little more at ease after being reaffirmed and, after a moment's hesitation, carries on with his explanation again:

"you had wingdings gaster appointed as your royal scientist a good while back. he was the one to put together the CORE."

Asgore hums at that.

"You're right... I do not remember," he responds, facing the table for a moment or so. Sans nods in acknowledgement. "Why is that?"

Sans breathes in.

"because i'm pretty sure he accidentally erased himself from existence," he explains, frowning deeply as he does. The king blinks in surprise.

"And... That is due to the malfunction you spoke of?"

He's clearly trying to grasp what's going on, and Sans is deliberately slow to continue.

"yeah. there was a machine he was workin' on. it, um. it had to do with our studies regardin' the underground," he tells it as simply as he can. "you remember anything about that?"

"Vaguely," Asgore reports and grasps his chin.

Sans finally gives in to the smell of tea and takes the tiniest sip. He realizes that his hand is shaking and has to put the cup back down.

"okay, well. that's somethin'," he concludes. "you're not the only one to forget about gaster, by the way. papyrus– my brother lost his memory, too. i'm thinkin' no one besides you two can probably remember, either."

A tentative silence follows as both monsters seem to be in problem-solving mode. Asgore is the one to speak first:

"That does sound like a conundrum." He thinks on it a moment longer, then... "Do you think fixing the machine would return things back to how they were?"

Sans wants to laugh, but manages to hold himself back. He humors the thought for a moment, even if wryly.

"the readings i got from the equipment that still works– it's almost like there's a void in spacetime where–" he pauses and shuts his eyes, organizes his thoughts, "it's unheard of." _Almost_.

"So it is undoable?" Asgore asks heavily. "A shame."

His expression sets into something grimmer. Sans feels guilt where his stomach would be.

"i could try," he then shrugs, though feels uncertain. "it's worth giving it a go."

It's Asgore's turn to nod, but his mood doesn't seem any brighter.

"Come then. Let us finish our tea and go see what the extent of the damage is," the king speaks a moment later and takes another long sip of his drink. Sans can bring himself to do nothing but agree.


	2. The Whipping

There's a steady knock against Undyne's door. It's one she recognizes immediately, and the tea kettle whistles almost on cue.

"Be right there!" she shouts to the door as she shifts the pot onto a cool stove plate. A moment later she leaps across her entire apartment in one go and swings the door open violently. "Hey, Asgore! What took you so long?!"

The king of monsters stands right outside, smiling warmly and hunching a little bit to see through the doorframe.

"It is such a nice day to take a stroll through Waterfall, isn't it?" he beams, then lowers his gaze to his side, somewhere Undyne can't see. That doesn't last, as another monster soon steps into her view.

"eh, guess i can't really disagree," the monster drawls lazily, hands tucked inside the pockets of a blue hoodie.

"Oh, who's this?" she asks casually, taking in the sight of the skeleton before pointing a stare toward Asgore.

"This is Sans. He is going to be a sentry in Snowdin," Asgore declares and waves an introductory hand toward Sans.

"heya," the latter greets with his eternal grin.

"He's going to– _what_?!" Undyne exclaims, hand gripping at her door much tighter than necessary. "You hired a sentry _without my consent_?!"

Asgore frowns at her tone, but only softly gestures for her to calm down.

"Let us discuss this inside."

Begrudginly, Undyne does lead her guests into the fish-decorum, Sans being the last to enter. He closes the door after him and curiously takes in the sight of the apartment.

"What are you doing hanging by the door?! Be a good guest and sit down!" Undyne growls from her spot in the kitchen, succesfully gaining Sans' attention.

 _Alright, she's a hoot_ , he thinks with a drop of sweat forming at his temple. _No relaxing in this house. Got it._

Sans does as instructed and walks over to the table. Undyne approaches the same space, having whipped out another stool from who knows where. She puts it out as a seat for Sans, and the latter briefly thanks her.

Next on Undyne's to-do list is pouring out the tea. She hands a cup to Asgore, then turns to her other guest with a rather stale expression.

"Did you want a cup?" she asks, much calmer than before. Sans shakes his head.

"nah, thanks. i'm good."

She simply grunts in acknowledgement and pours herself a cup instead. She picks it up and returns to occupy the last seat. Both her and Asgore are comically tall in comparison to the table.

"Undyne, this tea is delici–"

"CUT THE CRAP! I wanna know why you hired this dweeb behind my back!" Undyne immediately interrupts and slaps at the table hard enough for her tea to spill.

Neither Asgore nor Sans do so much as flinch. Rather, Asgore softly places his cup down, expression a perfect mask of neutrality while Undyne seeths at him.

"Sans and his younger brother are moving and he cashed in a favor with me."

"A favor?! I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard, Asgore! You can't just let someone in on a favor!" she complains unhappily and shoots a deadly, yellow look at Sans. "Can this guy even fight? No offence, but you're tiny!"

"none taken."

"There are standards to who gets hired! I had to work my ass off to get this position! I don't care if you're the king, I won't let you undermine my authority like this!"

Undyne is agressively tapping her index finger to the thick wood in front of her and glares at her superior in a rebellious manner. Asgore lets out a gleeful chuckle barely fitting of the situation.

"This position does truly suit you," he amends, and that seems to relax Undyne just a little, "And you are right."

That causes Sans to blink and he narrows his sockets slightly at Asgore. He hopes he isn't being his usual pushover self and going back on his word. The king turns to him.

"Sans, you should spar with Undyne."

 _Oh_. That makes sense, but...

"Yeah! Not gonna shoot him down before actually seeing if he's good for something," Undyne allows, "BUT I'M CALLING if he's good enough, capishe?!" She's now grinning from _ear_ – fin to fiin. Sans dreads the thought.

"asgore...?" he tries with a slight frown, but the king softly shakes his head.

"No, Sans. _No matter what_ , I can not grant you this favor without Undyne's agreement," Asgore muses, smiling knowingly. Then it occurs to Sans that this is likely what he's intended to do from the beginning. "Fighting her and doing a good job at it is how you get her to agree."

"Fuhuhu! Very true! So let's go outside and see what you got, you nerd!" Undyne beams and hops up from her seat, already rushing out the door.

Asgore is the next to rise, though he does so slowly, almost tentatively.

"I am expecting an interesting show," he tells him with a smile and follows his friend out.

Sans contemplates his options for a moment, then reluctantly does the same.

He follows Asgore down the path into the large hub-like area of this small part of the cave system. Undyne is stretching one of her arms, still grinning as she prepares for battle.

The king sets himself by the wall, clearly intending to stay out of the way. Sans doesn't worry for him, knowing how strong the monster is.

"Oh, hey, before we start! I'm not expecting you to win, alright? I mean, I will go easy on you! But I know someone who's just trying to enter the Guard is probably not... Err," Undyne reconsiders her words, "I've whipped a lot of recruits into shape, is what I mean!"

Sans' composure remains stagnant as he looks her over. The fish monster looks the part of her role with her stature, sharp teeth and menacing eyes. Sans has heard stories of Undyne's strenght and knows more or less what to expect. He's not about to drop his guard in this fight, even if he's a dirty cheater.

"Wow, you're really not scared, are you?" the Royal Guard taunts, "Don't worry. That's about to GET FIXED!"

With no further warning, a blue spear veiled with magic materializes into Undyne's waiting hand. And in the next moment, she waves it up and two more pierce through the ground by Sans' feet. He's ready to use his abilities at a split second's notice, but...

He stands still as the magic halts an inch from his face. Sans is almost disappointed this ends up being nothing but a warning shot. He tilts his head at Undyne... And Undyne looks fired up.

"HA! And now for the REAL fighting!" she shouts and pulls a few more spears from thin air. Sans focuses his senses as she starts tossing them his way, this time, it seems, for real.

Already the fish monster can't quite grasp what's wrong. She throws every single spear with purpose and careful aim, but none even grace at her target. It kind of looks like he's dodging, with minimal movement, but he always returns to the same spot he's started in.

Irritated by this, Undyne ups her game. She's determined to make him move.

"NGAHHH!"

A spear pulls out from the ground right where Sans stands, and finally he's forced to step back. He looks down to where the magic protrudes from, then casually winks at his opponent.

"coulda done that from the start."

Okay, this guy _needs_ to go down. He hasn't even taken his hands out of his pockets, nor tried to attack! He looks completely relaxed, in fact. Undyne is fuming.

With a new angered shout, she launches straight at Sans. If she can get one hit in, she can grasp him with her magic and force him to stay put...! She makes that her mission.

Still, he evades her, seemingly with ease. Every spear she pulls out of the ground below his feet, every one she tosses at him from any direction, every swing she takes at him with the weapon in her hand... All of them _miss_.

"GAHH! How is this possible?!" she questions through gritted teeth as she launches an especially furious attack, from all cardinal points and the ones in between, no less. By all logic, Sans should effectively be a pin cushion by now!

Yet, when the dust settles (and not the kind of dust Undyne yearns for at this point), the skeleton is standing a few feet back from where she's launched her attack. His grin feels like it's mocking her.

"wanna call it quits?" Sans asks with an easy shrug, and honestly, Undyne almost wants to amend him and ask _how in all hell_ he's doing what he's doing. But as she catches her breath, just a bit worn from all of her excessive attacks, she notices something about him.

There's a bead of magical sweat on his skull. Despite seeming like he isn't lifting a finger for this fight, he's getting _tired_.

Whatever he's doing, he's expending energy for it. And if this is a game of stamina, Undyne is not about to lose.

Sans must see the renewed determination in her gaze, because he's starting to look worried. His stance turns more wary, shoulders defensively squared. His eyelights are glued to his opponent.

"undyne–" he begins, but Undyne is not going to wait. She materializes a new wave of spears and launches them at him without mercy. Her speed is quicker, her attacks are much less desperate and more precise.

Sans is still evading, but there's a fleeting panic in his eyes.

Whenever he dodges, Undyne retraces his movements exactly and starts to predict where he'll go. He backs up to the water, a blue spear is coming through the ripples. He shifts for a cave opening for brief cover, a wall of magic is in his way. He's not given even a moment's break.

Despite having no lungs, Sans is running out of breath. He's right to have been wary of Undyne and very wrong about teasing her. She's not going to give in without defeating him. _But he can't allow her to hit_. Not once.

Every single attack she's getting closer and closer to gracing him. Sans has started to get desperate – their roles switched in this regard – and the panic is rising into his throat. He's expending so much magic, he might just faint if this goes on for much longer.

It's when his mind first starts to become hazy that his panic reaches its boiling point.

He's cornered. Undyne is right in front of him, the spear in her hand about to pierce his head, slitted pupils trained on him. From his right, he can vaguely see another strike coming in at the same time. What he doesn't notice is the one pushing out of the wall right behind him. Not until the very last moment.

In that moment, he thinks he may have gasped. It all happens in an instant and melds into an undecipherable blur. What he knows he does, even if he doesn't mean to, is that he _attacks_.

Sans sidesteps the spears coming toward him from the back and from his side, and to hinder Undyne's aim with the weapon in her hand, he instinctively materializes a piece of magic of his own. It's nothing but a small bone levitating beside his head that he then launches at her, but it's exactly enough to do the job.

"AGHHH!"

The reaction is instant. Undyne has been caught off guard. While Sans stands still, in petrified shock as he pants, soul thrumming from managing to escape with his life... The fish monster is doubled over in pain, all of her attacks dissipated.

"Undyne!" comes Asgore's startled voice from the side. It's that shout that finally makes Sans realize what he's done.

"ohh, _crap_ – i'm so sorry, i didn't mean to..."

According to his statistics, Sans has exactly _one_ attack. Against humans, that would be something for them to brush off. Humans are filled with DT. But monsters...

 _Undyne_

 _1033/1400_

With enough intent, against monsters, Sans' DT-fueled attacks may as well be deadly.

"EAHHH, why does this hurt so much?!" she shrieks more in irritation than actual pain. Asgore has run over to them and holds a soft paw against her back.

Finally, Undyne straightens, but she has a hand pressed over her left eye and she's gritting her teeth. Sans wonders how bad the damage is, but is still too shaken to ask. He usually isn't pushed into a reaction like that.

After another agonizing moment, the captain turns to him.

"You're way stronger than I expected!"

The way she happily exclaims that sentence catches Sans off guard. She laughs loudly at that.

"Hey, look! I finally made you flinch!" she then declares in good humor and attemps to go for a friendly smack to his shoulder. As it is his second nature, Sans dodges that one too.

"heh heh, that ya did," he agrees nervously and finally slides his left hand back into his pocket. _God,_ is he happy for the fight to have ended. He hopes he never has to do that again. Screw the sentry position, at this point.

The cave looks like a warzone, leftover marks from Undyne's attacks cracking stone all over the place. Maybe this is a great opportunity for an expansion. Or a thorough reshuffle, at least.

Unlike the skeleton, Asgore seems calmed down by Undyne's mood, even if he shoots concerned glances at the wound she's still holding her hand against. He pushes the thought of that aside for the moment, though.

"Well, Undyne... You have fought him now," he starts, remembering his intentions, "Will you give him a chance?"

Undyne looks dumbfounded.

"A chance?!" she exclaims, then turns to Sans, " _Buddy_. From now on, I am counting on you!"

That works out then, doesn't it?


	3. The Replacement

HP. Attack. Defence. _Stats._

Alphys doesn't question those things. For all she knows, those things have always existed. They're just part of the rules of this world, of their existence.

She doesn't know who originally discovered these things, though. And initially, Alphys didn't particularly care. She's always enjoyed tinkering with things, and before long, engineering became a passion. But that's as far as her scientific curiosity went for a while.

That all came to change when she met a certain person much more aware of the universe than she is.

"so you're the new royal scientist," speaks said person, startling Alphys out of her stuphor.

"Wha–When did you get here?!" she squeaks in an undignified manner as she turns toward her uninvited guest. A skeleton monster, one around her own short height.

"[DON'T YOU KNOW IT'S RUDE TO SNEAK UP ON PEOPLE, DARLING?]" spits Mettaton in his robotic voice and folds his arms to appear stern.

"heh, sorry. you're right, i shoulda knocked," the skeleton shrugs, amusement in his eye sockets as the little beads of light within roam across the lab, "let me make it up to ya. knock knock."

 _This guy... He's making a joke? After breaking into my lab?_ Alphys can only bring herself to stare for a moment. Mettaton is just standing there. _Oh God, the silence is getting awkward!_

"U-u-um!" Alphys exclaims nervously. "Who's... Who's there?" Somehow, it feels like the skeleton's mood brightens at that.

"fiend."

…

Well, they've gone this far, might as well finish the joke. Alphys frowns at herself.

"F-fiend who?"

The skeleton winks.

"you're still goin'? the joke already ended."

 _Huh?_ Alphys frowns deeper. She repeats the joke again inside her head. Then, it dawns on her. And it seems to dawn on Mettaton at the same time.

"[REALLY? YOU JUST PRANCE INTO SOMEONE'S WORKPLACE AND START MAKING PUNS LIKE NOTHING'S STRANGE? WHAT A CLASS ACT! I'M GRADING IT AN **F**.]"

Despite Mettaton's words, a string of snorts and giggles can be soon heard from beside him. Alphys is covering her face with one hand as she tries to hold herself back from laughing. Not at the joke, really – more just the ridiculous entrance the skeleton has made.

"Al...Alright, wh-what did you... D-did you n-need something from me?" Alphys breathes when she calms down from her giggling fit a moment later. This monster must be seeing the Royal Scientist for a reason.

They're all stood at the ground-level floor, the main area which you enter through the sliding doors. A computer in an old-looking shell is on, and a small pile of messily stacked papers is starting to build onto the edge of the desk. Otherwise, the space rather lacks personality. It makes sense, since she's only recently been hired.

The skeleton has his hands in his pockets, standing a fair amount of paces from Alphys and her creation. Her and Mettaton have been going through some logistics of his body before this interruption.

"actually, just came to meetcha. 's been a while since we've had a royal scientist, an' it's kind of a big deal asgore actually appointed someone," he tells casually and allows his gaze to land on Mettaton, next, "heard some rumors ya managed to make a robot with an artificial soul."

Alphys looks a little nervous at that. She waves her hand in front of Mettaton, who's still mostly just observing.

"T...That's right! Th-that is... Um, that's the r-reason A-Asgore... um... appoin... appointed me...? So..." she stutters out clumsily and scratches at the side of her head.

The skeleton doesn't seem at all affected by her demeanor. That both relaxes and unnerves her at the same time, if that's possible.

"that's quite the feat. how'd'ya manage it?" he asks and shifts his weight just a bit, likely to stand more comfortably.

"It was–Um, I-I, I wouldn't... W-want to b-bore you with th... the technicalities, so..." she says while wringing her claws. Mettaton finally unfolds from his position.

"[OH, BUT, DARLING! IT IS NOT A SECRET HOW MY MAGNIFICENCE CAME TO BE, IS IT?]" he announces loudly and rolls over to the intruder, "[YES, IT TOOK A BIT OF AID FROM DOCTOR ALPHYS FOR ME TO REALIZE MY TRUE FORM! BUT MOSTLY, IT WAS JUST A SHOW OF COMING TOGETHER WITH... LIFE! AH, WHAT DRAMA, WHAT INTRIGUE–]"

" _aid_ , huh?" the skeleton interrupts, eyes trained on the robot a little while longer. When he turns to Alphys again, the lizard seems to be chewing on her claws. "come on, ya wouldn't bore me, actually. i may be a bit rusty on the science stuff, but this–" he waves into the general direction of Mettaton, "might just reinvigorate my interest."

He seems all but genuine and Alphys is entirely clueless how to respond. She hasn't expected anyone to barge into her lab like this. She's been avoiding explaining her creation to the few people that would actually understand what she's talking about, so far. Lucky for her, the Underground isn't too rich with scientists.

"The... The shell is a t-type of titanium al-alloy... I, um, actually c-created the material m-myself! And, for the powercore, I used–"

"yeah, i mostly just wanted to know about the soul. i can tell your engineering is advanced just by lookin' at him... but wouldn't've imagined somebody actually constructin' a soul at this point in time," he shrugs, brushing off whatever she would've explained, "i mean. we barely even know what they're made of... right?"

Something in the skeleton's expression has Alphys freezing up.

"Th-that's, um! True, b-but, I would be lying if I d-didn't, ah, tell you there was act-actually a bit of luck i-involved as well so–"

"[I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THE LUCK OF THIS DRAW WAS, DARLINGS! THE FACT THAT YOUR BRILLIANT CREATION JUST HAPPENED TO BECOME ME!]"

Mettaton has cut in and stood himself between the two smaller monsters.

"[LISTEN HERE, DEAR FUTURE FAN! I'LL ACCEPT YOUR ADMIRATION OF MY ORIGIN STORY, BUT THIS CONVERSATION IS GETTING RATHER DULL. I ACTUALLY HAVE PLACES TO BE, SO I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD SCRAM!]"

Despite the manner in which Mettaton has chosen to express himself, Alphys agrees with at least the end part of that sentiment. She really doesn't want to carry on with this conversation, so she remains silent. Even if shame is lightly coloring her cheeks.

The skeleton's attitude remains unchanged. He doesn't make to leave either.

"oops, didn't mean to intrude."

"[AND YET YOU HAVE.]"

Finally, he seems to give in. He shuffles about with his position for a bit before he takes a slow glance toward the main door. However, Alphys' hopes of him leaving are quick to drop when he seems to abandon his train of thought and gazes at her again.

Mettaton moves again to block her from his view, forcing him to face the robot instead.

The air is getting unsettling.

"so," the skeleton starts, still opting for casualness even when it's completely out of place, "you managed to lie your way into this position."

Alphys physically flinches just from his words, from the ease they're conveyed with. She would wonder if Mettaton has startled too if her thoughts hadn't come into a complete halt.

"im thinking, asgore chooses to remain gullible, since..." the strange monster continues, gaze straying from the scene before him, "...I had a feeling the new Royal Scientist got in with a sham."

When Mettaton backs away just slightly and brings the skeleton back into Alphys' view, she sees his eyelights have diminished into nothingness. For whatever reason, that makes his expression very scary. It almost feels like this is the expression he's been sporting below all those easy gestures for the duration of this conversation.

"Th–that's... That's n-n-not... I didn't m-mean... I mean! Hehehe! I-I... I used... I cr-created..." Alphys tries to string together a sentence, any lie that may come to mind. _Anything_. But it all ends up a jumbled mess of desperate stutters.

"[THAT'S QUITE THE ACCUSATION! I TRULY DO HOPE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS WITH, GOOD SIR!]" Mettaton cuts in, playing outraged. Alphys meekly notes he does it rather well despite having limited access to tone.

The skeleton remains quiet a beat longer, leaving the two others waiting for his reaction, both anxious (even if Mettaton is less so). Then, the monster's makeshift pupils return.

"eh..." he simply sounds, making Alphys blink rapidly, "whatever. i'm not judging." He rolls one of his shoulders, as if he has muscles that can get sore. "as long as you get somethin' done in this lab, i don't mind if you make buildin' ghosts bodies a hobby."

This time Alphys doesn't miss it. Mettaton definitely seems surprised by the skeleton's comments.

"W...What? You..." she still can't manage to speak, so her friend abuses the empty air.

"[WELL, ALPHYS. LOOKS LIKE THE SECRET IS OUT, DOESN'T IT?]" Mettaton says, turning to face said scientist. "[YOU DO HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION FOR THIS, DON'T YOU?]"

Her eyes widen, then drop back to the skeleton. He's simply looking at her, waiting for her to speak. Alphys feels herself almost tremble, but suppresses the urge and holds her temples instead. She needs to get a grip, _right now_.

"Who... Who are you?" she finally asks when she becomes capable of coherent thought again.

"the name's sans. what's up?"

"Sans..." she breathes, then steadies herself and lowers her arms, "W-what are you g-going to do now that y-you know?"

Sans hums and rocks on his feet once.

"dunno. probably go grab a drink... make some puzzles with my bro. the usual," he shrugs and leans against the computer table.

Alphys takes a once-over of his clothes. The thick hoodie and the basketball shorts and the white socks in... Pink slippers? No _skin_ –um, _bone_ , besides his head, is showing. That kind of outfit is weird enough that he could be from anywhere, but the wetness of his slippers would suggest he's either from Waterfall or the Snowdin area, she remarks. And puzzles? A sentry, maybe.

"B-but that c-can't be it. Y-you can't just be... O-okay with this," she argues dubiously. Sans seems to still, his eyes moving to her as he regards the sentence.

"guess not," he informs her easily, "but i also don't care enough to do something 'bout it. just wanted to see what was goin' on here."

Alphys thinks on this carefully. A guy she's never met trots into her laboratory unannounced, calls her out on her lies and just walks out of the situation. That doesn't seem right. She has little reason to trust his word.

"[THAT'S NOT ALL, IS IT, DARLING?]" Mettaton speaks once more, bringing a voice to Alphys' thoughts, "[YOU CAME HERE FOR MORE THAN THAT. YOU WANT SOMETHING.]" He points at Sans accusingly as he speaks.

The latter's gaze shifts to Alphys yet again. Then, he looks to the ceiling.

"welp. since i have figured out your scheme, guess i should play my part properly an' ask for something in return. for keepin' the secret and all that," he muses, "but since yer creation is a hoax, i dunno if you'd actually be up for it."

There's a challenge in Sans' tone when he faces his fellow scientist. Alphys feels that challenge to her core, even if she still hesitates.

"T-tell me what you n-need and I'll s-see what I can do."

From that day on, her world has been expanding. Though her passion still lies in engineering, trying to fix that unfixable machine has raised many questions she's never cared to ask before. And, upon receiving some answers to those questions, however vague they may be...

Ever since meeting Sans, she knows for certain their existence isn't just something she can brush off. Even if the thought has been chased to the back of her mind.

* * *

 _[A/N] That's all three parts I'd written for this. Dunno what I'll do next (although Dancetale is on my list) so let me know if there's something. Toodles!_


End file.
